Duncan backs longer Chicago school day

Education secretary, a former CPS chief, says 'they need to get this done'

September 09, 2011|By Joel Hood, Tribune reporter

Count U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan among the biggest cheerleaders for lengthening the school day in Chicago.

Coming to town Friday to talk education reform with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago Public Schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard and other political leaders, the former CPS chief called Chicago's short school day a "disgrace" and said he wished he had had the groundswell of public support to extend the school day while he was in charge.

"We were unsuccessful (in pushing for a longer school day), and it was one of my big regrets. There's no question about it," Duncan told the Tribune on Thursday. "I think it's important to have a good process, to have input from teachers, from the union. But at the end of the day, Chicago has been at the bottom of the barrel nationally in this area for far too long. Chicago now has a chance to break through, and that's tremendously exciting."

Duncan said he had no qualms with the waiver process and financial incentives Emanuel and CPS have used to entice four elementary schools to agree to an extended day and break with the Chicago Teachers Union. In this instance, he said, the end result is far too important.

"This is an amazing opportunity for Chicago to go to another level," said Duncan, who served as CPS chief from 2001 until he was named education secretary in 2008. "They need to be thoughtful, they need to be smart, they need to be inclusive, they need to be strategic, but they need to get this done."

Duncan will lead a panel discussion on education reform beginning at noon Friday at Schurz High School on the Northwest Side. The event is part of a multistate bus tour that has wound through the Midwest this week.

Duncan said Chicago's current school day, which ranks among the shortest in the U.S., is "not a badge of honor, but a disgrace." If educators here are serious about reform and improving student performance, lengthening the school day is a must, he said.

"I think the children in Chicago are as smart, as talented, as creative, as entrepreneurial as anywhere in the world," Duncan said. "But we have to level the playing field. We have to give them a chance to compete. And right now they're not."